Dig-It! Games had a maintenance headache with a dated Cold Fusion data
collection system and some data reporting into various applications in the cloud.
The data was siloed and lacked any form of normalization to make it interoperable
for aggregation and analysis. It was time to change old practices for new, and after
a requirements gathering exercise, the team decided to prototype with xAPI. Existing
xAPI profiles provided a solid baseline of verbs and activity types, etc., but xAPI
contextual data lacked any form of structure. Most industries have a common vocabulary
and standards, but xAPI profiles do not address context.

In this session you will learn how, with support from the National
Science Foundation, Dig-It! embarked on a research project to create a methodology,
tools, and vocabulary for using xAPI in learning games in one industry (K-12) that
could be replicated in other industries. Find out how they created a framework for
the xAPI specification that combined with existing profiles and libraries for a
great launch point to address the problem. You will learn how the framework solved
the silos and proprietary nature of learning data from games, and how within 30
days they had a pilot reporting learning data from a JavaScript game to a learning
record store. Ultimately, it solved the main problem of creating a solution for
collecting data, was basic, and created other challenges.

In this session, you
will learn:

How the team planned and developed the
GBLxAPI.org open-source project

How they developed a global vocabulary
catalog with over 450 permanent URIs for use with the extensions and over 2,000
additional URIs for US-only standards

About their API for Unity to simplify xAPI
use in games and simulations

How their data is now visualized in a third-party
BI tool with widgets, dashboards, and export options

How it’s now easier to share meaningful
data with researchers, which ultimately could increase the use of learning games
in industries

Free Unity API for integrating xAPI into learning games and simulations
developed using the Unity 3D game engine. Free Excel sheet for organizing and planning
learning outcomes in learning games. Tools for reporting xAPI data, including use
of AI bots.

Stuart Claggett

COO/CTO

Dig-iT! Games

Stuart Claggett is the COO/CTO at Dig-iT! Games, a mission-based game developer and publisher with a goal of having a positive impact on education by harnessing the power of game-based learning. Stuart leads the open-source xAPI initiative GBLxAPI.org, which aims to simplify and standardize how educational games collect meaningful data for developers, educators, and researchers. He is also the co-researcher for developing the supporting context library catalog as a model for improving interoperability of data using xAPI. Stuart received the Hammer Award from the White House Office of the Vice President (VP Gore) for technology innovation.